Editing Octopus (section)

===Science and technology===

In classical Greece, [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BC) [[Aristotle's biology|commented on]] their colour-changing abilities, both for camouflage and for [[signalling theory|signalling]], in his ''[[Historia animalium]]'': "The octopus&nbsp;... seeks its prey by so changing its colour as to render it like the colour of the stones adjacent to it; it does so also [[deimatic behaviour|when alarmed]]."<ref>{{cite book |author=Aristotle |title=Historia animalium |orig-date=c. 350 BCE |volume=IX |page=622a: 2–10 |authorlink=Aristotle}} Cited in {{Cite book |last1=Borrelli |first1=Luciana |url=https://doi.org/10.36253/88-8453-376-7 |title=A Catalogue of Body Patterning in Cephalopoda |last2=Gherardi |first2=Francesca |last3=Fiorito |first3=Graziano |date=2006 |publisher=Firenze University Press |isbn=88-8453-377-5 |series=Cataloghi e collezioni |location=Firenze |doi=10.36253/88-8453-376-7 |authorlink2=Francesca}} {{cite web |date=2006 |title=Abstract |url=http://www.fupress.com/scheda.asp?IDV=487 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206145302/http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/history_anim.9.ix.html |archive-date=6 February 2018}}</ref> Aristotle noted that the octopus had a hectocotyl arm and suggested it might be used in reproduction. This claim was widely ignored until the 19th century. It was described in 1829 by the French zoologist [[Georges Cuvier]], who supposed it to be a parasitic worm, naming it as a new species, ''Hectocotylus octopodis''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harman |first=Oren |date=2016-01-01 |title=The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science |url=https://doi.org/10.1215/0961754x-3323121 |journal=Common Knowledge |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=128 |doi=10.1215/0961754x-3323121 |issn=0961-754X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Leroi |first=Armand Marie |author-link=Armand Marie Leroi |title=The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science |title-link=Aristotle's Lagoon |publisher=Bloomsbury |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4088-3622-4 |pages=71–72}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Cephalopoda |url=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/inverts/mollusca/cephalopoda.php|publisher=University of California Museum of Paleontology|access-date=27 March 2017}}</ref> Other zoologists thought it a spermatophore; the German zoologist [[Heinrich Müller (physiologist)|Heinrich Müller]] believed it was "designed" to detach during copulation. In 1856, the Danish zoologist [[Japetus Steenstrup]] demonstrated that it is used to transfer sperm, and only rarely detaches.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mann |first=T. |title=Spermatophores: Development, Structure, Biochemical Attributes and Role in the Transfer of Spermatozoa |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=imPrCAAAQBAJ|page=28 }}|year=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-82308-4 |page=28}}</ref>

[[File:OCTOPUS arm1.JPG|thumb|Flexible [[biomimetic]] 'Octopus' [[robotics]] arm. The BioRobotics Institute, [[Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna]], [[Pisa]], 2011<ref name="Laschi Cianchetti 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Laschi |first1=Cecilia|author1-link=Cecilia Laschi |last2=Cianchetti |first2=Matteo |last3=Mazzolai |first3=Barbara |last4=Margheri |first4=Laura |last5=Follador |first5=Maurizio |last6=Dario |first6=Paolo |title=Soft Robot Arm Inspired by the Octopus |journal=Advanced Robotics |volume=26 |issue=7 |year=2012 |pages=709–727 |issn=0169-1864 |doi=10.1163/156855312X626343|s2cid=6104200 }}</ref>]]

Octopuses offer many [[model organism|possibilities in biological research]]; the California two-spot octopus had its genome sequenced, allowing exploration of its molecular adaptations.<ref name="Albertin Simakov 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Albertin |first1=Caroline B. |last2=Simakov |first2=Oleg |last3=Mitros |first3=Therese |last4=Wang |first4=Z. Yan |last5=Pungor |first5=Judit R. |last6=Edsinger-Gonzales |first6=Eric |last7=Brenner |first7=Sydney |last8=Ragsdale |first8=Clifton W. |last9=Rokhsar |first9=Daniel S. |title=The octopus genome and the evolution of cephalopod neural and morphological novelties |journal=Nature |volume=524 |issue=7564 |year=2015 |pages=220–224 |issn=0028-0836 |doi=10.1038/nature14668|pmid=26268193 |pmc=4795812 |bibcode=2015Natur.524..220A |doi-access=free }}</ref> Having [[convergent evolution|independently evolved]] mammal-like intelligence, octopuses were compared by the philosopher [[Peter Godfrey-Smith]], who studied the nature of intelligence,<ref>{{cite book |last=Godfrey-Smith |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Godfrey-Smith |title=[[Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness]] |date=2018 |publisher=William Collins |isbn=978-0-00-822629-9 |pages=77–105, 137–157}}</ref> to hypothetical [[Extraterrestrial intelligence|intelligent extraterrestrials]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Baer |first=Drake |date=20 December 2016 |title=Octopuses Are 'the Closest We Will Come to Meeting an Intelligent Alien' |publisher=Science of Us |access-date=26 April 2017 |url=http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/12/octopuses-are-intelligent-aliens.html}}</ref> Their intelligence and flexible bodies enable them to escape from supposedly secure tanks in [[public aquarium]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/04/13/octopus-slips-out-of-aquarium-tank-crawls-across-floor-escapes-down-pipe-to-ocean/ |title=Octopus slips out of aquarium tank, crawls across floor, escapes down pipe to ocean |last=Brulliard |first=Karin |date=13 April 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=20 February 2017}}</ref>

Due to their intelligence, many argue that octopuses should be given protections when used for experiments.<ref name=protections>{{cite journal|author=Reardon, Sara|title=Octopuses used in research could receive same protections as monkeys|journal=Nature|accessdate=6 April 2025|date=15 September 2023|doi=10.1038/d41586-023-02887-w |pmid=37714985 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02887-w}}</ref> In the UK from 1993 to 2012, the common octopus (''Octopus vulgaris'') was the only invertebrate protected under the [[Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (Amendment) Order 1993 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1993/2103/article/3/made#text%3D%22Octopus%22 |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref> In 2012, this legislation was extended to include all cephalopods<ref>{{cite web |title=The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 Amendment Regulations 2012 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3039/regulation/3/made |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref> in accordance with a general [[European Union|EU]] directive.<ref name="EUdirective">{{cite web |title=Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:276:0033:0079:EN:PDF |publisher=Official Journal of the European Union |access-date=18 February 2015 |at=Article 1, 3(b) (see page 276/39)}}</ref> 

Some [[robotics]] research is exploring [[biomimicry]] of octopus features. Octopus arms can move and sense largely autonomously without intervention from the animal's central nervous system. In 2015 a team in Italy built soft-bodied robots able to crawl and swim, requiring only minimal computation.<ref>{{cite web |title=PoseiDRONE |url=http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/projects/PoseiDRONE |publisher=The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515115844/http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it/projects/PoseiDRONE |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Laschi 2015">{{cite book |last1=Laschi |first1=Cecilia |title=Soft Robotics |chapter=Soft Robotics Research, Challenges, and Innovation Potential, Through Showcases |year=2015 |pages=255–264 |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-44506-8_21|isbn=978-3-662-44505-1 }}</ref> In 2017, a German company made an arm with a soft [[pneumatic]]ally controlled [[silicone]] gripper fitted with two rows of suckers. It was able to grasp objects such as a metal tube, a magazine, or a ball, and to fill a glass by pouring water from a bottle.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Burgess |first=Matt |title=This robotic octopus tentacle isn't creepy at all |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/octopus-robot-tentacle |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=27 March 2017}}</ref>